The present disclosure relates generally to information handling systems, and more particularly to a system for provisioning access to a volatile/non-volatile memory device in an information handling system.
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Information handling systems such as, for example, servers, typically utilize memory devices such as, for example, Dual Inline Memory Modules (DIMMs), that provide for the storage of instructions and/or other data for execution by a processing system to provide a variety of desired functionality of the server. Traditionally, DIMMs have utilized volatile Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) that temporarily stores the instructions and/or other data until power is removed from the DIMM, which causes the loss of the instructions and/or data on the DIMM. However, recently Non-Volatile DIMMs (NVDIMMs) have been introduced that retain instructions and/or data stored thereon even when power is removed from the NVDIMM. Such NVDIMMs typically include flash memory along with the DRAM, as well as access to a battery or capacitor that allows for the copying of instructions and/or data from the DRAM to the flash memory when external power is removed from the NVDIMM. However, the use of NVDIMM raises several issues. For example, the persistence of instructions and/or data on the flash memory (which has conventionally been stored in the volatile DRAM) compromises the security of those instructions and/or data due to the ability to remove the NVDIMM from the server without erasing those instructions and/or data, which enables theft of the instructions and/or data. Furthermore, the ability to store instructions and/or data persistently on NVDIMMs can compromise the security of the server, as it enables the ability to introduce unauthorized instructions and/or data (e.g., malicious instructions such as malware) via an unauthorized NVDIMM added to the server.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an improved NVDIMM system.